Why Do I Get Sick Before My Period?

Feeling sick before a menstrual period is a very common phenomenon among women. Due to various problems, women face many symptoms before the period such as vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, constipation, etc.

Many women ask about this discomfort, and they ask for expert advice on “Why Do I Get Sick Before My Period?” and what can be done to avoid these troubles every month? Very often, many ladies report of having flu-like sickness or throat pain or other discomforts before getting their period.

Why Do I Get Sick Before My Period?

The menstrual cycle is different in every woman, and the troubles faced by these women also vary to a large extent. Whenever a woman asks, “Why Do I Get Sick Before My Period?” the answers that you are going to most likely here from your physician are Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) or Dysmenorrhoea as the biggest culprit.

Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS)

PMS is one of the most common causes of the sick feeling before the period, and almost 75% of all woman are affected by this before their period. The symptoms of PMS occurs between ovulation and the start of the menstrual period. Although, the rudimentary reason behind PMS is not known, it could be seen that due to the drop in estrogen hormone level before the period the PMS effect boosts up in woman’s body. Some of the very common causes of this symptom are poor diet and nutrition, chemical fluctuation in the brain, too much consumption of alcohol or caffeine, etc. Some very common symptoms of PMS are:

Cramps and headaches

Low sex drive

Lower back pain

Lack of energy

Fatigue

Weight gain

Diarrheal

Constipation

Nausea and insomnia

Dysmenorrhoea

Dysmenorrhoea is also known as the painful period. This severe abdominal and lower back pain mainly caused by reproductive disorders. Almost 10% of the women face these acute painful symptoms before their periods. Dysmenorrhoea can be classified into two groups; primary and secondary.

Primary Dysmenorrhoea: This occurs mostly in younger females with no pelvic pathology. This pain may last for 24-72 hours.

Secondary Dysmenorrhoea: This pain occurs in association with pelvic pathology. In most of the cases, this pain occurs years after the onset of menstruation and this may last for few days before the start of the period or can also stay during the entire menstrual period. This may occur due to Adhesions, Fibroids, and Pelvic inflammatory disease, etc. The primary symptoms of Dysmenorrhoea are:

Lower back pain.

Pain in hips and thighs

Nausea

Weakness

Vomiting

While many of the women wonders “Why do I get sick before my period?” it should be known that this symptom can eventually be turned into PMS symptoms till they get to the stage of early adulthood.

Getting Sick Before My Period, Any suggestions?

There are some practices available by following which you can reduce these painful symptoms, and these practices are as follows.

Healthy eating

Healthy eating is immensely needed and helpful during this period. Foods rich in calcium are the best.

It is advised to avoid salt during the whole period.

Avoid too much consumption of alcohol and caffeine.

Drink at least 2-3 liters of water a day.

Try to avoid food with high sugar.

Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables and beans.

Exercise

Do some regular exercises such as swimming, running walking, etc. These will reduce the stress level and water retention. These are natural painkillers and boost up your mind.

Supplements

Proper nutrition is essential to prevent PMS, and the most important supplements are calcium, magnesium, fatty acids, Vitamin B6, etc. You may also take some hormone balancing supplements such as chaste berry supplements, black cohosh, etc. It is necessary to ask a doctor if you want to take birth control pills or other hormone balancing supplements or treatments.

Control the stress level

The high-stress level is always a big factor for many health problems and in the case of sickness before period, stress level again plays a significant role. Maintaining a lower stress level is intrinsically needed. PMS can cause anxiety, tension mood swing, etc. and thus it is imperative to retain the stress level by having meditation, regular exercise, proper sleep, yoga, going out with friends and family, get enough rest, etc. Sometimes antidepressant medicines like Fluoxetine, Paroxetine, Clomipramine, Sertraline, Nefazodone, etc.

Medicines

Different medications are used to cope with different symptoms of PMS and Dysmenorrhoea. The most common drugs are to overcome antidepressants, to suppress ovarian function, to deal with analgesics, etc.

Danazol: It is a medicine that is used to suppress ovarian function. It has some side effects and is advised not to use for a long period.

Oral contraceptive pills: OCPs are prescribed to get relief from the PMS symptoms. FDA approved OCPs with improved hormonal formulation are widely used and prescribed.

Other remedies and instructions

It is highly advised to consult with a physician if you are facing a lot of discomforts before a period and the physician will help you to take some necessary steps to reduce these discomforts. A natural way to get some relief from lower abdominal cramps is a heating pad. You can place it under the lower back to relax your muscles. You can talk with friends and relatives to get some very useful tips. Do not use any of the medicines without reading the full instruction to avoid any side effects or adverse health conditions.